THE NEED TO REMEMBER GOD

REMEMBRANCE OF GOD;
All of the various acts of worship contained in the divine laws are designed to help humans remember God. It is natural for human beings to sometimes forget even the most important things. Humans often become so engrossed in fulfilling their material needs that they totally forget their spiritual needs. Regular prayer is ordained to organize the day of the true believer around the remembrance of God. It interweaves spiritual needs with material needs on a daily basis. The regular daily need to eat, work and sleep is linked to the daily need to renew man’s connection with God. With regard to regular prayer, God states in the final revelation,

“Verily, I am God, there is no god beside Me, so worship Me and establish regular prayer for My remembrance.”
(Quran 20:14)

Regarding fasting, God stated in the Quran,

“O you who believe! Fasting has been prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you that you may become God-conscious.”
(Quran 2:183)

The believers are encouraged to remember God as much as possible. Although, moderation in all spheres of life, whether material or spiritual, is generally encouraged in divine law, an exception is made regarding the remembrance of God. It is virtually impossible to remember God too much. Consequently, in the final revelation, God encourages the believers to remember Him as often as possible:

“O believers! Remember God often.”
(Quran 33:41)

Remembrance of God is stressed because sin is generally committed when God is forgotten. The forces of evil operate most freely when consciousness of God is lost. Consequently, the satanic forces seek to occupy people’s minds with irrelevant thoughts and desires to make them forget God. Once God is forgotten, people willingly join the corrupt elements. The final revelation, addresses this phenomenon in as follows:

“Satan got the better of them and caused them to forget God. Those are the party of Satan. Truly the party of Satan are the real losers.”
(Quran 58:19)

God, through Divine law, has prohibited intoxicants and gambling primarily because they cause human beings to forget God. The human mind and body easily become addicted to drugs and games of chance. Once addicted, mankind’s desire to continually be stimulated by them leads them into all forms of corruption and violence among themselves. God says in the Quran:

“Satan’s plan is to incite enmity and hatred among you with intoxicants and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of God and regular prayer. Will you not then abstain?”
(Quran 5:91)

Consequently, humankind need to remember God for their own salvation and growth. All humans have times of weakness in which they commit sins. If they have no means of remembering God, they sink deeper and deeper into corruption with every sin. However, those who follow the divine laws will be constantly reminded of God, which will give them a chance to repent and correct themselves. The final revelation accurately describes this process:

“Those who, having done something shameful or having wronged their own souls, remember God and immediately ask forgiveness for their sins…”
(Quran 3:135)

THE RELIGION OF ISLAM:

The most complete system of worship available to human beings today is the system found in the religion of Islam. The very name ‘Islam’ means ‘submission to the will of God.’ Although it is commonly referred to as ‘the third of the three monotheistic faiths,’ it is not a new religion at all. It is the religion brought by all of the prophets of God for mankind. Islam was the religion of Adam, Abraham, Moses and Jesus. God addresses this issue in the Quran with regard to Prophet Abraham, saying:

“Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was an upright Muslim who did not worship others besides God.”
(Quran 3:67)

Since there is only One God, and humankind are one species, the religion which God has ordained for human beings is one. He did not prescribe one religion for the Jews, another for Indians, yet another for Europeans, etc. Human spiritual and social needs are uniform, and human nature has not changed since the first man and woman were created. Consequently, no other religion is acceptable to God besides Islam, as He clearly states in the final revelation:

“Surely God’s religion is Islam…” (Quran 3:19)

“And whoever desires a religion besides Islam will not have it accepted, and he will be among the losers in the hereafter.” (Quran 3:85)